SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team will make their first trip west as a Division 1 member as the Royals head to the BeeHive State for a pair of midweek tilts at Utah and BYU. Queens will open the trip on Tuesday, November 12^th at Utah before heading to Provo for a showdown with BYU on Wednesday night. Tipoff for both games is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET and the games will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE VS. UTAH
Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Time: 9:00 PM ET
Location: Jon M. Hunstman Center (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Watch (ESPN Plus)
Stats (Statbroadcast)
Queens Game Notes
Tickets
 
GAMEDAY GUIDE VS. BYU
Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Time: 9:00 PM ET
Location: Marriott Center (Provo, Utah)
Watch (ESPN Plus)
Stats (Statbroadcast)
Queens Game Notes
Tickets

THE MATCHUPS
Making their first road trip of the 2024-2025 campaign, the Royals will square off against Utah and BYU for the first time in program history. Queens has played a pair of power four opponents in Clemson and Duke and will be looking to right the ship against those top programs with their first win. The trip west will be the Royals furthest trip from the Queen City since advancing to the NCAA Division 2 Elite Eight in Bakersfield, California during the 2000-01 season. The early trip will also be a homecoming for a pair of Royals as Cedar Hills, Utah native Jaxon Pollard returns to his home state while former BYU assistant coach, and current Royals assistant coach Bobby Horodyski returns to his former squad.
 
SCOUTING THE ROYALS (2-0 overall, 0-0 ASUN)

• Queens will look to build upon their second 2-0 start since joining Division 1 in 2022. The Royals are coming off a convincing 67-54 victory over Western Carolina on Friday night. Queens held the visiting Catamounts to a 31-percent clip from the field, and an incredible 14-percent mark from downtown.
• Center Malcolm Wilson leads the nation in blocked shots as the seven-footer is averaging 7.0 per game. Against Lynchburg, the Georgetown transfer set a career-high and tied the single-game program record with eight blocks. On the glass, Wilson has been physical bringing down an ASUN-high 12.0 boards per game.
• Freshman Yoav Berman has made an immediate impact in his first season in the Queen City. The Tel Aviv, Israel native is second on the team in scoring (11.0 PPG) and rebounding (6.5 RPG). Against Western Carolina, the rookie nearly posted his first career double-double with nine points and nine boards.
• Newcomer Asjon Anderson has been a spark for the Royals off the bench across two appearances. The 6-2 guard leads the Royals with 16.0 points per game which is 10^th best in the league. Anderson provided the key spark on Friday night against the Catamounts sparking an 11-0 run in which he buried three shots from downtown.
• In his first season at the point, Bryce Cash is settling in and packing the stat sheet averaging 4.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game. Against Western Carolina, the Charlotte native dished out a career-high nine assists. His performance in the backcourt has landed the Royals at the top of the league in assists per game with 18.0.
• Queens has been lethal from the perimeter as the Royals have a made a three-pointer in 345 consecutive games. Chris Ashby has been the sparkplug from outside draining a three-pointer in 58-of-68 appearances as he sits eighth all-time in program history for three-pointers made.
• Coming off a season in which they finished last in defensive scoring in part to allowing quality looks, the Royals have turned the page and made impressive adjustments. After the first week of the season, Queens leads the ASUN in defensive scoring (46.5 PPG), opponent field goal percentage (24%), and opponent three-point field goal percentage (11%).
• Queens has been relentless on the glass as the Royals lead the league in rebounding averaging 53.0 boards per game. The Royals' physicality has netted the third most offensive rebounds (16.5 ORPG).
• Making their first road trip of the new season, the Royals will look to flip the script away from Curry Arena. Last season, the Royals went 1-15 in road outings which included the longest losing skid on the road in a single season in program history at 14.
• After sitting top 10 in the country in pace of play last season, the Royals are right back at the top sitting eighth according to KenPom.

 
SCOUTING THE RUNNIN' UTES (2-0 overall, 0-0 Big 12)

• Utah enters Tuesday night 2-0 and coming off a 98-63 victory over Central Arkansas on Thursday night. Four Utes reached double figures as Gabe Madsen led the way with a game-high 25 points on 6-of-13 shooting from downtown.
• Coming off a 22-15 campaign and 9-11 mark in Big 12 play, Utah was picked to finish last in the Big 12 Preseason Poll. Utah recorded its 40th season with 20-plus wins, tying it with Arizona, Marquette, and St. John's. The 40 seasons with 20-plus wins is tied for 14th-most in the NCAA Division 1 men's basketball.
• Craig Smith is in his fourth season at the helm of the Utah program. Under his direction, the Runnin' Utes are 52-50, including a 21-2 mark at home in non-conference action. Dating back to the 2022-23 season, Utah has won 11-straight non-conference games in Salt Lake City.
• In the 98-67 season opening victory, Utah broke the single-game program record for three-pointers with 19. The Madsen brothers combined to go 11-for-19 from long range.
• This season, Utah is averaging 99.0 points per game on 50-percent shooting from the field and a 43-percent mark from downtown.
• The Runnin' Utes offense is one of the nation's best ranking first in three-pointers made per game and 17^th in scoring.
• Fifth year Gabe Madsen leads the Runnin' Utes offense with 26.0 points per game on 61-percent shooting. His brother, Mason is second on the team in scoring with 15.0 points per outing.

 
SCOUTING THE COUGARS (2-0 overall, 0-0 Big 12)

• BYU enters Wednesday night 2-0 and coming off an 86-80 victory over UC Riverside on Friday night. Four Royals posted double figures in the victory as Egor Demin led the way with 20 points. Keba Keita turned in a 14-point and 10-rebound double-double.
• Kevin Young enters his first season at the helm of the Cougars program after former head coach Mark Pope took the job at Kentucky. With a pair of victories to open the season, Young is the first head coach in program history since Roger Reid (1989-90) to win the first two games of his tenure.
• Coming off a 23-11 season which included an NCAA Tournament berth, the Cougars were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.
• BYU ranks 27th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency according to KenPom. The Cougars are averaging 87.0 points per game on a 49-percent shooting clip from the field.
• Freshman Egor Demin is off to a hot start in his collegiate career. The Moscow, Russia native leads the Cougars with 19.0 points per game while adding 4.5 boards and 9.0 assists per game.
• Utah transfer Keba Keita is averaging a double-double through two games with 10.0 points and 10.0 rebounds.
• The Marriott Center is one of the top venues in college basketball ranking seventh in the nation in total attendance and 10th in average attendance last season. The Cougars averaged 15,689 fans per game which was the highest ranking since the 2014-15 season.

 
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow the Royals on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media to stay up to date on all the Royals sports in action.